The relationship between Sungchul and Ryze went back dozens of years.
As one of the key figures of the rebellion, there had been a battle Sungchul had fought while greatly outnumbered. He had remained in the rearguard during the retreat to buy his allies ti to escape, when he was captured by the soldiers of the kingdom of Rutheginea, who dragged him to the arena.
The cruel Ruthegineans had refused to give any sort of treatnt or dical attention to Sungchul, who had major injuries all over his body, and sent him out to fight in the hellish arena.
It had been a hot, sweltering sumr.
Sungchul’s entire body was riddled with maggots as he killed enemies whose na or origin he didn’t know again and again.
But even for him, death was approaching.
The combat wounds that were never given a chance to heal were starting to set with gangrene.
Like a miracle, it was while he was fastened to a stockade and awaiting his death that Sungchul t her.
Princess of the Holy Kingdom of Rutheginea, Ryze Hirr.
She had purchased Sungchul from the arena and had all of his injuries tended to.
She liked to play jokes on the quiet and rough lone wolf of a man, and thus began the relationship between Sungchul and the ever-cheery princess.
Many things happened since then, but Sungchul never once forgot that, despite everyone in La Grange wanting him dead, there was a single girl who treated him like a human being.
In so corner of his heart, the mory of her rcy and goodwill still pulled at his heartstrings.
But mories were just that. mories.
Sungchul had continued to grow and change over ti.
Though he hadn’t been aware of it at the ti, the many experiences of pain and suffering, as well as the many people that he t, had tempered him into steel, ultimately transforming him into a man who could directly stand up to his painful past.
Without so much as a waver, he was able to gaze upon the woman who had been gone for decades.
As always, his expression was calm and perhaps uncaring.
And he was just as tranquil inside.
Bertelgia, who was the closest to his heart, knew better than anyone.
That person over there is… Ryze Hirr? But he doesn’t seem surprised at all!
Ryze, who had maintained a close relationship with Sungchul over many years, knew better than most that Sungchul was closer to a hard inanimate object than a person.
Even now, she got the impression that Sungchul was more like a still-life wax figure than a human being.
What had intrigued her in the past was his wolf-like tenacity to fight to the bitter end, to survive despite his outer, calm deanor.
However, Ryze felt that there was sothing different about Sungchul at the mont.
“It’s been a while,” Sungchul said, with his voice as composed as always.
But Ryze was aware that Sungchul was capable of another, more desperate tone of voice and had been expecting and wanting to see that kind of reaction.
But the man standing before her showed no such weakness. He was treating her like just another pedestrian in his life.
Could it be…? A worrying thought brushed past her mind.
“As promised, I have gotten rid of all the curses afflicting your daughter’s body,” Sungchul continued to speak. “And with that, I have repaid everything I owe you.”
The mont she heard these words, Ryze Hirr realized the primary difference between Sungchul of the past to this new present version of him. Though they both appeared similar at first glance, the content within were as different as the heavens and the earth.
The Sungchul of the past was best described as a shell composed of a combination of conscious and intentional lifeless, emotionlessness, and excessive reticence, whereas the present Sungchul was like that of a mountain in of himself.
The weight of his soul, ironically, exploded the mont he let go of Fal Garaz, the heaviest and the most valuable object he owned.
“…And now I will ask as the chairman of the World Parliant,” Krumbui’s sharp tip of the blade was pointed at Ryze Hirr, “was it your group that opened the gate?”
Ryze staggered back slightly.
The quick-witted woman understood. There was no longer any room for her in his heart.
In the sa decade, I have remained in place. What transford this man so much in the sa ti?
There was no ti to answer the question.
Ryze accepted the reality that the glistening blade pointed toward her face would show no rcy and bowed her head to Sungchul.
“Yes, it was us.” She knew how much Sungchul hated lies.
“Is that so?” Sungchul let out a shallow sigh, and Krumbui moved slightly.
Seeing this, Ryze quickly added, “But I only did as I was commanded.”
That was the trigger. “You ungrateful traitor bitch!”
An officer behind Ryze drew his sword and tried to attack Ryze from behind.
A flash of light burst from the fingertips of Sungchul.
Glare.
The small flash, cast for the first ti in a long while, pierced straight through the neck of the officer of the Floating Archipelago and subsequently, several flashes sequentially punctured through the officer’s vital points.
“Ugh!”
The interference was gone
Sungchul turned his gaze to the rest of the crew and made an announcent in a calm voice.
“If that happens one more ti, I will kill all of you.”
This was not a threat, it was a warning. One that could be realized at any ti.
The crew of the Floating Archipelago, who had been looking like they were about to attack, bowed their heads, feeling overwheld by Sungchul’s impressive aura. They didn’t dare look him in the eyes
This was the Enemy of the World.
And this fear was now beginning to build in Ryze’s heart as well.
This person. He might really kill .
There was no ti for self-pity.
“Who?” Sungchul asked.
He knew the answer already.
“The Wandering King.”
As expected, the answer ca from Ryze’s mouth.
The astute woman didn’t stop there. “It’s because the dwarf kingdom had to be brought in as an ally or discarded with all due haste now. Because as it turns out, your friend the emperor is planning sothing really crazy in the Human Empire.”
“The emperor?”
It was the sa thing she had claid in the palace earlier.
Ryze knew she had his attention now, so she glanced around for a mont before resuming her explanation with her characteristic lax attitude back in her tone of voice.
“Officially, the current emperor is the Emperor of the Human Empire. But in truth, he only has that temporary position as long as the Wandering King recognizes it. The promise was for him to relinquish the throne back to the rightful king once the ti ca, but the emperor did not keep the promise even after that ti ca.
“Of course, the Wandering King was already prepared for such an eventuality. And as a result, all governing lords of the empire have already turned their back on the emperor and announced their allegiance to the forr king of the Holy Kingdom of Rutheginea, effectively ending the emperor’s reign. But as it turns out, the emperor himself wasn’t just sitting around idly while in control of the throne.”
A cruel smile appeared on Ryze Hirr’s lips.
“He reminds of Desfort in many ways.”
“Desfort…?” At the ntion of the na, Sungchul pictured the yellow miasma that filled the eastern sky.
“In that he possessed impeccable abilities and character and enjoyed a high reputation and status for a long ti, but due to so twist of fate, he was destined to remain second forever.”
“What is the emperor plotting?”
At the modest banquet, the emperor had told Sungchul he would fight in his own way. But he hadn’t told Sungchul what that thod was.
Sungchul waited for the answer from Ryze.
She t Sungchul’s gaze and spoke in a faint voice, as if letting the words slide out.
“The end of the world.”
“The emperor, William, is not such a man,” Sungchul strongly disagreed.
“I have told you everything I know. Whether to verify it or not is up to you.” After saying so in a carefree tone, Ryze Hirr turned around as if dancing and showed a mischievous expression to the officers of the Floating Archipelago, who were looking back at her filled with rage, and then turned back to look at Sungchul.
“So, what is your answer?”
Krumbui’s sword still pointed at Ryze. Then, the tip was slowly lowered.
Though it wasn’t as though there was a complete absence of sympathy or mories of the past, Ryze Hirr did provide him with information, even at the risk of backlash from others from the Floating Archipelago.
Turning around and putting his sword away, Sungchul said to her, “Your daughter is in the Fae World. Although she’s with the fairies for now, she probably needs the nurturing hands of her blood relatives.”
This was yet another reason for Sungchul to avoid harming Ryze. And for this reason, Bertelgia felt her heart swelling with emotion.
When did this guy get so cool?
He was worrying about the future of a child who was neither present nor who he had any duty to protect further.
This was the embodint of what it ant ‘to take responsibility.’
Ryze stared at Sungchul’s broad back, surprised. The gust blowing toward them made his hair and coat flutter with the wind.
Sungchul opened his mouth once more. “If you go to the haunted forest, you’ll find Adelwight’s hut. She will show you the way to the Fae World.”
Sungchul walked over to the port side after leaving those words. And with everyone watching, he climbed atop the rails.
“If you still cannot find a way there, then contact . I’ll help you out this once, considering our past.”
A faint magic formation flicked over Sungchul’s body for a mont before he rapidly descended down to the battlefield unfolding in the burning streets of the dwarven kingdom below.
Krumbui’s blade flashed, burying the roaring chants of the barbarians.
Ryze stood at the railing, staring in the direction Sungchul had disappeared long after he was gone.
“…Sungchul Kim.”
She had never regretted her choices before. Even when she made mistakes, her positive nature allowed her to accept them honestly and fully.
But now, for the first ti in her life, she was regretting one of her decisions.
“This matter will be reported in detail to His Majesty Kromgard. Clansn of the White Snake Clan.”
Officers standing behind her shook her shoulders, threatening her, but Ryze heard nothing.
Ah, maybe I should have picked him after all.
Her mind was already reliving the decades of the past.
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